Lost: the plot
Hatcha’s long-time collaborator is a dubstep stalwart with a huge number of releases, collaborations and remixes under his belt. Like Hatcha, his involvement in the scene extends back to the days of Big Apple Records and the pre-dubstep, garage and grime era.
: So how did you first get involved in making dubstep? Lost: “I first started off as a DJ – it was my dad’s influence, he was a house DJ and producer, and made records with [UK garage veteran] Matt ‘Jam’ Lamont as The Jam Experience. I was always around music growing up, especially dance music and the whole DJ culture. I got my first pair of decks when I was 12, started mixing grime back when it was fresh and underground, and then discovered dubstep through Hatcha and Big Apple Records. I was buying records from Hatcha even before I knew him.”
: Getting from DJing to full-on producing is a big transition – how did you make the jump? Lost: “I did a media course at college, and spent my time making music in the lessons when I shouldn’t have been! They had Cubase on the computers, and that’s how I got my first taste of music making. A friend in my class showed me Fruity Loops, and from there I just taught myself. In college we learned how to set up condenser microphones and how to record and stuff, but for the actual beat-making, I taught myself everything!
“YouTube wasn’t really big back then – if you got stuck, there were no tutorials. The only help I got was from that friend who showed me the software in the first place. Also I met [fellow dubstep producer] Kromestar in Big Apple Records, and started making music with him. I learned a lot from that as well.”
: When did you start making music with Hatcha? Lost: “I think it was Kromestar that introduced me to him properly in the shop and told him he should check out my music. He started playing it on Kiss, and from there I started going around there. As our friendship progressed, we started working more together. We’ve been making tunes together for ten years now, on and off.”
: How has your production style changed since the days of Al Barsha? Lost: “I use a lot more VSTs now, whereas before I’d use the stuff that came with Fruity Loops. Now I’m venturing out, trying different things and getting a result from it – my mixdowns have definitely improved and my sound design has got a lot more technical. I don’t really use Albino any more – it’s more about Massive, Serum, Razor… those are the main ones I really use for basses and synths; I get a really nice, clean sound out of them.”
: Bass is a massive part of the dubstep sound, obviously. How do you go about making your bass patches? Lost: “Most of the time I’ll start off with a sine wave and then change the oscillators, add filters… it all depends on what I’m trying to achieve. Even if you go through some presets and find a nice sound, you work with that and change that until you like it – maybe strip it down and find out what you like about that sound, what they’ve done in the preset.”
: What methods have you found useful for teaching yourself production? Lost: “Learning from others is one of the best things. I’ve learned so much from other producers – little tips and tricks. Nowadays you can go online and get tutorials, and that’s definitely useful – it’s about finding the right sources. Of course, Computer Music magazine is the right source!”
: You’re far too kind! What other advice do you have for aspiring producers? Lost: “Be in competition – not with others, but with yourself. You can get really lost in trying to find your own sound and trying to improve when you’re constantly comparing yourself too much to others.”
“You can get really lost in trying to find your own sound”